Reunion
by krazikrys
Summary: Mulder's twenty year high school reunion with flashbacks to him in high school.


Title: Reunion

Author: krazikrys

Feedback: Greatly appreciated at 

Disclaimer: I don't own Mulder or Scully. They belong to Chris Carter, TenThirteen Productions and Twentieth Century Fox. This is strictly in fun.

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Martha's Vineyard Regional High School or MVR for short. Whoever named this high school had no imagination whatsoever. The colors were OK; purple and gray, but the school mascot sucked. We were the Vineyarders. Sometimes I wish I had graduated from a high school with a normal name and mascot.

My graduating class, the class of 1978, recently had their twenty-year reunion. It was good to see all the old buds again. Just to make it a party, the reunion committee told all one hundred and ten of us to bring a date. For most of the alumni, this wasn't a problem; they just brought their spouses. For me, it was a problem. I wasn't married, I lived in California, and I didn't really want to go. But the reunion committee knew how to get me to come. All they had to say was that Fox was going to be there. As far as I knew, he was still unmarried, unless you counted his work.

I thought we would pick up right where we had left off. But Fox William Mulder had other plans in mind.

Fox William Mulder. How many times had I scrawled that name on my notebooks?

Poor Fox. His sister disappeared when he was twelve. His parents divorced shortly after that. No wonder he put so much time into his studies. He was our class valedictorian and went off to Oxford, England to go to college.

I have to say though, without me, he wouldn't be where he is today. And without him, I probably would have dropped out of school. Without Fox Mulder, I never would have become class salutatorian and gone off to Stanford and gotten my English degree.

It all started with Mr. Michelson's English Nine class. It was about midway through the first semester and I was in danger of failing. That was when Mr. Michelson put an extra credit essay on the front blackboard. It was just my luck to be sitting behind Fox Mulder, the tallest and smartest kid in the entire ninth grade. The only word I could make out from behind Fox was the word "love." As much as I tried to see around his head, I couldn't see the rest of the assignment.

I was upset. I was probably going to fail English all because I couldn't see the blackboard. I had tried to get

Mr. Michelson to move me, but nothing worked.

I had been working up my courage to talk to the young Mr. Mulder about the problem, but I had never had the chance. Well, it was now or never.

I took my pencil eraser and poked him in the back. I kept poking him until he turned around.

"Yes?"

"Either move your head or tutor me in this class?"

"How does today after school sound?"

"Great. I'll meet you at your locker at three." And with those brief sentences we exchanged, it was all set and done, or so I thought.

"Mr. Mulder, Ms. Quilling. Since you two feel so compelled to talk during my class you will be sharing your essays on truth and reality," Mr. Michelson said. He glanced at the clock and said, "Tomorrow." Just then the bell rang. "Class dismissed," Mr. Michelson announced. As we gathered our books, Fox said to me, "Wanna have lunch together?"

"Sure," I said as we walked out of class together.

At three that afternoon, I stood at Fox Mulder's locker, looking around anxiously. Students were passing me in the hall all on their way out the door heading for home. I wondered where Fox was. Just then, I saw him coming out of the boy's room. "Hi," he said as he approached me.

"Hi," I said meekly. For some reason, all my courage had left me. He gathered his books from his locker and headed towards the door of the school.

"Come on," he said, "I don't want to keep my dad waiting."

My heart jumped into my throat. I was going to meet his dad. I ran after him, catching up easily. We walked down the school steps together and towards a waiting car. He held open the back door for me and once I was inside, climbed in beside me.

His father looked in the rearview mirror at us. "Who's your friend, son?" he asked.

"Dad, this is Susie Quilling. Susie, my dad, William Mulder."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said, ducking my head.

"Susie Quilling," Mr. Mulder said thoughtfully as he pulled out into traffic. "Do people ever call you Susie Q like the song?"

"My coaches do."

"What do you play, Susie Q?"

I grinned. "Softball, basketball and ice hockey, sir."

"Oh really? My son here, played little league for a while."

I looked at young Fox. "He never told me that." Just then, Mr. Mulder braked hard. When we stopped, I looked over the seat back to see why we had stopped. There was a squirrel in the road. We waited for it to cross the street then continued on our way.

When we arrived at the Mulder residence about ten minutes later, I saw the basketball hoop hung over the garage. As I climbed out of the car, I asked Fox, "Do you play?"

"Not really, I just kinda shoot around. No one really to play with."

"Well, how 'bout we play a bit and then we can go in and you can help me with my English essays?"

Mr. Mulder looked at us. "Not too long, son," he said. "I don't want you falling behind in your studies."

"Ok, Dad."

Fox and I played basketball for about an hour. After I beat him in four straight games of "21," he said to me, "We should go in and study."

"Alright." I made one more shot, sinking it easily. "You know, you're pretty tall for fourteen. Ever thought about going out for basketball?"

He bent over to tie his shoelace. "I just turned fifteen, and I'm not very good."

"That's only because I have two older brothers to play with. OK, here's the deal. You help me with my English and I'll help you with your game, deal?"

He stood up. "Deal." He then leaned over and kissed me on my cheek. I blushed. As we walked into the house together, he took my hand. "How's your 'truth and reality' essay?" he asked.

"Horrible."

"Well, let's see what we can do to it."

That night, as I got ready for the reunion, I remembered what Fox had told me at graduation. We were to walk out last, together, because we both would be giving speeches. As we waited in line for our turn to walk, he turned to me and said, "Susie, I'm going England. I know we had planned to go to Stanford together, but Oxford offered me a full scholarship."

I looked at him. "What? You're kidding me?"

"No," he said stoically.

"Fox, that's great. We can still be friends. It's okay. We can write and call every once in a while. Things will be fine."

"You're not upset?"

"No. Of course not." I couldn't tell him that my little heart was breaking.

That night, we had decided to give our speeches together, something that had never been done before. And as I received my diploma, I looked at him walking down off the stage. Suddenly, I called out his name. He turned towards me and ran for him. When I made it into his arms, the tears were streaming down my face. "Thank you," I cried in his ear. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too, Susie Q. I love you."

"I love you too, Fox."

Later, at the reunion, I went looking for him. I combed the gym floor. Suddenly I saw him...standing next to a pretty red head. He was introducing her to his old friends. My heart sank. He was seeing someone. I turned away and headed towards the punch bowl.

"Susie. Susie Q!"

Someone was calling my name. I turned around and there was Fox looking as gorgeous as ever in a blue suit and tie. And right behind him was the red head.

"Hi, Fox," I said meekly, like the day at his locker.

"Susie, I want you to meet my partner, Dana Scully."

"Partner?"

"I work for the FBI now. Dana is my partner."

I shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you." Suddenly the song "Susie Q" by Dale Hawkins came on the radio in the gym.

"Come on Susie. For old time sakes."

I looked at his partner. She mouthed the words "Go on" to me and pushed me towards her partner. The next thing I knew I was being swung around the gym floor having the time of my life. High school reunions may be a good thing after all.


End file.
